How I Lost 40 Pounds by Eating Burgers

My name is Mark and I lost 40 pounds in a matter of a few months – by one of the most unconventional methods.

Let me tell you a quick story of how I was successful in losing weight. Everything happened about a few years ago when I went to the doctor and she told me that I was obese. I’m a 6’6” guy who is in his forties that never heard those words told to him before. I was shocked. I topped off at 279 pounds and she told me I needed to lose 30 pounds.

I never was overweight before and was very thin when I was a kid. I remember when I was in high school, my Junior year, I was about the same height I am now – but 155 pounds. I was trying to gain weight while the whole world was trying to lose it. I eventually started to lift weights and within a couple of years I was at 230 pounds – with muscles popping out everywhere. I was very proud of myself. Then when I was in my late twenties, well, I got married and that’s when the pounds started to creep on me.

Fast forward a couple decades and I’m in my mid-forties. My career had taken a turn for the worse when I was laid off from my job of twelve years. Fortunately, I found a job rather quickly – but then two years later, I was laid off again. I totally neglected my health during these tough couple of years, I didn’t notice it, but both my blood pressure and weight was going through the roof.

Six weeks after I was laid off from my second job, I found a job as a contractor (thank goodness I had my severance package to help me out during the time I was unemployed). However, this job was very stressful and I decided to visit a new doctor. My weigh in was 279 pounds and my blood pressure was through the roof, even though I was on two types of BP medication. I wasn’t exactly consistent in taking them though. My health was horrible and I was basically a walking time bomb. On top of all that, my wife was telling me to get to a sleep clinic since my snoring was really bad.

Wow. Life was not good. Unfortunately, I went on with my life, trying to find a new job so I could get out of being a contractor at a Bank’s IT department – which was not great for my health. Then one day when I was on lunch, I drove over to my usual fast food joint to get a few hamburgers and fries. I sat there in my car and unwrapped my sandwich. Before I took the first bite, I remembered watching a program years ago about the “Atkins Diet”. This was basically eating high protein and no carbs. Not the healthiest of all diets, but it worked for many people. So I looked at my sandwich and took the top bun off – and that’s where it all began.

I actually didn’t try my first month, but I cut down on carbs when I went out to fast food places by taking off the top buns. When I went back to my doctor, I dropped ten pounds…I couldn’t believe it. This motivated me so much that I began lifting weights again and stopped eating most carbs. In the morning, I would usually fry up some bacon and eggs and then at lunch and dinner, I would go to a fast food restaurant and order plain cheeseburgers and took the buns off before I at them. For snacks, I bought jars of peanuts as well as some “slim jims”. My beverage would be flavored water – I dropped soda altogether.

A couple months went by and I dropped twenty more pounds. I went out and bought myself a good set a scales and monitored my daily progress. I couldn’t believe that something like this was going my way, but it was truly working. I started calling it my “Burger Diet”.

During this time though, I ran out of one of my blood pressure medicines and did not get it refilled. Something I should not have been so complacent about. However, when I went back to my doctor and it showed that I lost around thirty pounds (altogether) but there was another surprise. My blood pressure dropped big time! I confessed to my doctor that I was only taking one of my BP meds. She told me that it did make sense since losing all that weight would lower my blood pressure. Actually, my BP was almost textbook – 125/82. She asked me how I lost my weight and I told her I was eating hamburger without the buns. I don’t think she was thrilled about how I lost the weight (I can still see the look on her face – not good), but hey, it was working for me. As for my blood pressure, she said that I can remain on the one that I was currently taking but make sure to monitor it – if my BP went back up, she was then going to get me back on my second medication.

Six to eight weeks later, I lost over an additional ten pounds where it put me exactly at 239 pounds. I lost three sizes in my pants (went from a 42 waist to 36). My whole upper body was becoming more muscular and defined since the fat was slipping away. No more snoring or at least I’ve been told by me wife and my knees felt better (I forgot to mention that I did have some knee problems (seems like it exists in all tall people like myself)).

Concerning my career, I ended finding another IT job with a company that focuses on health – and I totally love it. I’m not saying that it’s roses all the time, but it’s one of the better jobs that I have had in a long time (as far as the stress level). My little “Burger Diet” – I will not give it credit for getting a good job. 🙂

I’m now at the point where I’m learning what good carbs are and am incorporating it into my diet. I am also including fruits and vegetables as well. I am doing a little cardio (I should be doing more) and am lifting weights to get more ripped. I am maintaining my weight and everything is finally working.

So that’s my story. Feel free to browse my website. I will be constantly updating it on a daily basis with various articles about my burger diet as well as what exercises to do. I will tell you what worked on my journey and sometimes, what didn’t.

DISCLAIMER: This article tells only how I lost the weight…and I am not recommending to anyone to do it this way. If you try to do what I do – I am not responsible for anything that will happen to you. Please consult your doctor before attempting to do anything close to what I have done. Thank you.

UPDATE TO MY STORY:

It’s been about three years since I lost all my weight – and for the most part, I kept it off. However, the last two months, the weight started creeping back and then when the holidays came around – I gained half of the weight back. So , I was at 266 lbs and I needed to lose about ten. I did a four day diet and actually lost ten lbs in four days. I’ll put up the video and documented pictures of my weight soon.